Newsletter

Southside Optimists honor officers

Five law enforcement officers were honored last week by the Southside Optimists Club in its annual Police Officer of the Year program. The program was led by club Treasurer Don Golden and Awards Committee Chair Bill Stanley.

Recognized for their work in 2011 were two officers from Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department, two deputies from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, and an agent from the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT)

Honored were Sgt. Chris Hinson and Off. Robert Martir from SCMPD, Deputy Gary Murphy and Pvt. Alan Nevels from CCSO, and Agent Angelia Coleman of CNT.

Sgt. Hinson is the SCMPD Supervisor of the Year. He is supervisor of the Crime Suppression Unit of the Islands Precinct and is a member of the SCMPD Dive Team. He joined the Savannah Police Department in 1995 and served 12 years on the SWAT Team.

Off. Martir is the SCMPD Officer of the Year. He serves as the Crime Prevention Officer in the Islands Precinct. A native of Brooklyn, NY, he holds a bachelor’s degree from New York Institute of Technology and is working on his masters from Webster University. Last year he led the department in the development of a computer site, iWatchSavannah.com, that allows members of the public to quietly report suspicious activities. He attained the rank of sergeant in the U.S. Army from 2004-2009.

Dep. Murphy is the CCSO Enforcement Bureau’s Officer of the Year. He has been with the sheriff’s office 17 years and is assigned to the Street Operations Unit and the Criminal Warrant Squad. He also conducts monthly training for street division deputies and the Tactical Reaction Team, the Reserve Deputy Unit and Explorer Post 876 on which he serves on the advisory board.

Pvt. Nevels is the CCSO Corrections Bureau Officer of the Year. He has worked for the bureau since 2007 and is assigned to housing Unit 2. He was singled out for preventing potentially dangerous contraband from entering the jail.

Agent Coleman is the Agent of the Year for CNT. She began her career with the Chatham County Police Department in 1996 and has worked in Dispatch, Patrol, Investigations, Hostage Negotiations and CNT. In CNT, she has worked in the Tactical

Unit, Intel, Major Cases, and Pharmaceutical Unit. During 2011 her work in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies led to the identification and closure of multiple area pain clinics knows as “Pill Mills.” Fifteen were arrested and approximately $5 million seized.